5 Tips For Finding the Best Dog Food For Your Furry Friend

Finding the Best Dog Food

Choosing the best dog food for your pet can be a daunting experience, and a higher price doesn’t always mean doing what’s best for your dog. Some brands tell us that our dogs should eat like wolves and others insist they are royalty, eating out of little crystal dishes while wearing their favorite outfit.

If you want to know how to give your dog healthy nutrition, check out this list of 5 tips for finding the best dog food:

Check the Ingredients

The ingredients in dog food brands vary, so check the label. Some brands may contain artificial sweeteners, flavors and colors or preservatives. These additives are disguised with names like BHT, BHA, ethoxyquin and propyl gallate, which should be avoided. Choose foods free of soy products, wheat or other grains.

The main ingredient in a good dog food is always meat. Dogs are carnivores and need the protein supplied by animal products to remain healthy and active. A small percentage of vegetables and fruits are okay, as long as the main ingredient is chicken, lamb, beef or turkey. Stay away from vague descriptions, like “meat by-products,” which includes everything deemed not healthy for human consumption at meat processing plants. By-products have little nutritional value for your pet and shouldn’t be in their food.

Nutritional Adequacy Statement

The dog food label should include a statement describing the age or breed for which it is formulated. The label may say, “This food is complete and balanced for adult maintenance” or “For a puppy’s first year of growth.” Making sure you have the right food for your dog’s stage of life is one more way to ensure you’re selecting proper nourishment for your canine companion.

Feeding Trial Information

Kibble that has undergone feeding trials are preferred. Labels will include a statement that will explain which methods were used to determine how nutritional adequacy was determined. The statement will say something like, “Testing was completed, finding that Awesome Kibble provides complete and balanced nutrition for all dogs.”

Guaranteed Analysis

The guaranteed analysis breaks the ingredients down into percentages of minimum protein and fat as well as the maximum fiber and moisture.

Protein is the key here. For puppies, a minimum of 28% protein is recommended, with 18% for an adult dog and 25% (or more) for high-performance dogs.

The word fiber is used for complex carbohydrates that are usually found in plants and grains. If your dog were in the wild, eating prey, they would consume carbs naturally, from the digestive contents of the animals they have eaten. 2-4% fiber is optimal for healthy dog food.

Ask your Veterinarian

When in doubt, ask your vet. Allow him or her to give you the benefit of their knowledge and experience to help you choose the right dog food for your pooch.

In light of recent safety recalls of popular pet foods, it would be beneficial to educate yourself on how the food is made, including the pet food processing equipment used, where the product was made and from what country it came. Safety concerns have called for an increase in pet food safety regulations, but this is not the case in some foreign countries. Use the internet and do your research.

We all want the best for our pets; they’re a part of our family. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to give your furry friend wholesome, nutritious food. Educate yourself about pet food labels, paying close attention to the ingredient list and the guaranteed analysis. Learn about the latest food safety regulations and the food processing equipment used to process the product. Your dog will love you for it.

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“5 Tips For Finding the Best Dog Food For Your Furry Friend”

Guest Author Bio: Kara Masterson is a freelance writer from West Jordan, Utah. She graduated from the University of Utah and she enjoys writing and spending time with her dog, Max.

Cellulose is also not an advisable ingredient in a dog food. Better watch out for this ingredient since it may be harsh for the dog’s digestive system.Meil recently posted…Best Homemade Dog Foods: How to make them?

That is a very informative post. It is also advisable to avoid dog foods or dog treats with no ingredients label on their wrapper. Some ingredients are even bad for dogs, so dog owners should watch out for them.Meil @Best Homemade Dog Food recently posted…Best Homemade Dog Foods: How to make them?

My first puppy was 12 weeks when we found her 2 weeks before, and I’ve never had a puppy that young. Now I’m feeding her litter 3/4 cup puppy food twice a day. But I keep reading mixed things about feeding her twice or three times a day. Hope this post will be helpful.

Thank you for the tips! I always think that the thing that is going to help dog owners the most is doing their homework, and know what their dogs need, and don’t.DogsToLove recently posted…Can my dog go vegan?

Great post. Checking the ingredient list is very important and most people overlook this. The first ingredient I usually look for is meat followed by a good source of carbohydrate. I generally ignore vague descriptions.William recently posted…Best Dog Food for Pitbulls

This is great advice for finding the right food for your dog. It’s really important to make sure your pet is getting the best the care possible, especially when it comes to their dietary needs. Thanks for posting!

Jeanne Melanson is just an ordinary gal from Nova Scotia, now living in Michigan.

Her animal family has included 13 Alpine Goats, 40 Chickens, 20 Turkeys, 3 Vietnamese Pot Bellied Pigs, a number of Turtles, 2 Raccoons, 1 Opossum , her share of Cats and Dogs, and a Bearded Dragon named Shirley.